The novels are treasonous, he continued, and anyone with common sense can tell.
There is no proof that Leung distributed the books or had subversive purpose, defense attorney Anson Wong told the court on Friday.
The defendant did not have the ( seditious ) intention, according to Wong, who added that the prosecutors had concurred.
Leung apologized in a notice to the court, but the chief magistrate insisted that the word needed to contain some element of punishment.
For first-time offenders, the murder of importing subversive publication carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Prosecutors in Hong Kong have frequently used the rebellion offense in recent years in conjunction with Beijing’s imposition of a comprehensive national security law in 2020.
In contrast to protection law cases, which primarily target well-known activists and politicians, rebellion cases frequently involved accused with no public profile.
Five speech therapist, the original designers of the Sheep Village line, were each sentenced to 19 months in prison for sedition in September 2022.